


Candlelight and Shadows

by HufflepuffChildOfApollo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Because It's Not Ghosts, Cinnamon Roll Scorpius Malfoy, Fear, Gen, Ghost Stories, Good Slytherins, Halloween, James Sirius Potter is a Good Sibling, Not-Really Graphic Description of Corpses, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Scary Stories, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter Friendship, Scorpius is a dork as usual, Slight Canon Alteration There, Slytherin Common Room, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Specifically What Wizards Fear, They Don't Hate Scorpius and Albus Though, Wizard Scary Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-10-29 03:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20790146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffChildOfApollo/pseuds/HufflepuffChildOfApollo
Summary: Scorpius is astonished when Albus asks about Wizarding ghost stories, and takes it upon himself (and several other members of Slytherin House) to educate Albus on 'The Macabre and Horrifying of the Wizarding World'.





	1. Chapter one

Albus looked up at the pinprick stars in the dark ceiling over his head as he finished his slice of pumpkin pie. "Scorpius," he said after a moment, audible only to his friend over the chatter in the Great Hall. "What are wizards afraid of?"

Scorpius paused, a fork carrying a definitely-too-large bite of caramel apple pie already halfway to his mouth. "Well, what do you mean, Albus?" 

"Like, what kind of scary stories do you have? You can't have very many good ghost stories, I mean, look." He gestured to the Gryffindor table, where Nearly Headless Nick was entertaining a group of entranced first-years by reenacting his own botched decapitation, and to the Hufflepuff table, where the Fat Friar was laughing merrily at a joke some fifth-year had told about two goblins and a Jarvey. 

"What do you mean, 'can't have many'? Have you _seen _the Bloody Baron? Have you _never_ heard of The Prince's Sister, or The Tragedy At Wysper Castle?" Scorpius said, shoving the pie into his mouth and continuing with his mouth full. "Aren't your parents wizards?" 

"My parents?" Albus laughed. "You mean the most Muggle wizard and witch to ever exist?" 

Scorpius shrugged. "You have to know _some_ Wizarding folklore."

"Not really. Closest thing I've ever heard to a scary story is The Warlock's Hairy Heart, and that's only a bit morbid."

Scorpius looked at him with pity. "You really know nothing, don't you?" 

"Zilch."

"Alright." Scorpius put down his fork. "_You_ have to be fixed. I am going to educate you on the macabre and horrifying of the Wizarding World, succeeding where your parents failed."

Albus chuckled. "You're such a drama king."

"I know." Scorpius smiled. "So, common room at midnight?"

"It's a school night," Albus said doubtfully. 

"As if you're ever asleep at midnight anyway!" Scorpius flicked Albus on the forehead. "It'll be fun!" 

Albus sighed. "Alright," he said. He had to admit he was interested, and it _was _almost Halloween. "I'll be there."


	2. Chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention that this story takes place in Scorpius and Albus's second year (2018).

Albus wandered into the dark common room at midnight, his footsteps echoing on the stone floor. He shivered uneasily when he noticed the fire was out, the only light coming from a lantern set on the floor, beside which stood a stack of books, and from across the common room, the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out into the lake gave its usual eerie green glow, the well-diffused moonlight casting strange shadows on the room. The occasional bypassing mermaid or Grindylow only added to Albus's feeling of unease. 

"Scorpius?" he whispered, looking around. No answer came. 

"Scorpius?" he repeated, taking another step forward. A creak underfoot sent a shiver up his spine. Just when he was considering going back to the dormitory —

"Hello, Albus."

"Augh!" Albus whipped around, panting. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. He looked at the doorway and found Scorpius, doubled over in silent laughter. 

"Scorpius!" Albus scolded. The blonde's laughter didn't stop.

"I'm sorry, but your face —! That was priceless. I wish I had a camera."

"Why am I friends with you?" Albus wondered aloud. Scorpius sobered, though his mouth twitched for a second as though he was trying not to smile. 

"Because your standards are unbelievably low." 

Albus rolled his eyes. "Did you make me come down here just to jumpscare me, or was there some sort of purpose to all this?"

Albus could practically _hear _Scorpius's eyes roll in the darkness. "Yes, Albus, I lured you here simply so I could jump out at you and give you a five-second adrenaline rush. Because I'm_ so _dedicated to a little jumpscare that I'll risk my sleep and ability to function in class tomorrow," he deadpanned. 

"I could do without the sarcasm, Scorpius." Albus gestured around the common room. "Why am I here?" 

"Why do you think?" Scorpius grabbed Albus's arm, pulling him toward the lantern. He picked it up before walking to a dark corner of the common room. In the dim lantern light Albus could see a low construction of piled cushions and blankets. 

"Go on in," Scorpius said, letting go of Albus's arm. "Lilac and Ashton are joining us in a bit, and Jess is already waiting."

Albus nodded, ducking inside the fort. Jess, a skinny boy who shared the boys' dormitory with Albus and Scorpius, looked up, acknowledged Albus with a nod, and went back to reading his comic book. Albus sat down, fiddling with a loose thread on his sweater. He glanced over at the entrance, biting his lip. Through the gap between the blankets hanging there he could see Scorpius struggling to pick up all the books stacked up on the floor. Albus sighed, crawling back out and standing. 

"Need some help?"

Scorpius yelped, clearly startled, and dropped the book he'd just picked up. "Yes, Albus, thanks. You got me back."

"I didn't mean to." Albus picked up the remaining books, looking over at Scorpius. "Are you sure Lilac is coming?" he asked as Ashton walked in from the boy's dormitory. Scorpius nodded. 

"Yeah, she said she was bringing someone."

Albus frowned. "Who would she— JAMES!" 

"Quiet, Al, you'll wake the whole school," his brother said irritatingly, ruffling his hair as he passed by with Lilac, a girl in Albus's year who was _not_ supposed to be friends with his brother, but here she was, _holding hands _with_ James, _like it was _normal_ or something. Albus didn't know what to make of it. 

"Oh, yes, hi, good! James. Good. Hi." Scorpius waved awkwardly, dropping a book on Albus's foot. "Nice to have you here." Albus groaned. 

"Nice to see you too, Malfoy," James said. Lilac simply smiled, pulling James over to the fort. Scorpius smiled, grabbing Albus by the arm and pulling him along.

* * *

Once they were all seated in the fort, Scorpius cleared his throat, calling attention to him. 

"Well," he began quietly. "We all know why we're here, right?"

"I don't," Albus grumbled. Scorpius ignored this.

"We're here because Albus Severus Potter is severely uneducated on the matter of Wizarding urban legends and ghost stories." Scorpius said this like it was a great tragedy, though Albus couldn't see why it was such a problem. Yes, he would _like_ to know, but it wasn't a severe _problem._

"So," Scorpius continued. "Without further ado, let's begin." With a wicked grin, he pulled a book over towards him. "I'll be telling first."

Albus raised a brow, exchanging a glance with James, who shrugged.

Scorpius opened the book, holding up the lantern so he could see; it cast his face into strange shadows, giving an eerie effect. 

" 'In a faraway corner of a country long forgotten, in a kingdom long since crumbled and rotted, and in a castle now covered over with ivy and laying in ruin, there lived a prince,'" he began. 


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius opened the book, holding up the lantern so he could see; it cast his face into strange shadows, giving an eerie effect. 
> 
> " 'In a faraway corner of a country long forgotten, in a kingdom long since crumbled and rotted, and in a castle now covered over with ivy and laying in ruin, there lived a prince,'" he began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning in this chapter for a description of strangling, drowning, and sorta-zombies

"_The Prince, young, fair and much beloved by his subjects, was destined to rule the kingdom, for his parents had died in his youth, leaving him to be raised by servants." Scorpius glanced up for a moment. "However, in the castle there also lived a girl — the Prince's sister. She, like her brother, was young, fair and beautiful, but she possessed a quality he did not: the ability to perform supernatural feats — Magic._

_ "The kingdom's citizens, children, adults and elderly alike, adored the Prince — but his sister they cherished beyond words. While the Prince was seen as a decent young boy, his sister was nothing short of a gift, straight from the gods — some even believed she was a goddess taking a human form._" 

"When does it get to the scary part?" James asked. Albus glared at him for interrupting , but Scorpius didn't seem to mind. 

"All in good time," he said, smiling. He cleared his throat and continued reading. 

"_Though the Prince was in line for the throne once he came of age, it was his sister whom the citizens flocked to with every question, or trouble, as if it were she who led them. _

_"The Prince over time grew jealous of his sister's many admirers, for though he had just as many, he felt they simply liked him out of duty rather than true respect. He therefore tried all he could to dissuade them and make her fall out of their favour._

_"He spread a rumour that she was responsible for the poisoning in the town's water supply, even though she was the one who cleaned the poison from the wells and healed those sickened by the toxic water! And when he caused a torch to fall upon her, scorching her face, and spread it about that her wickedness had turned her ugly (hoping her ugliness should turn her wicked and prove him right), she still cared for the town's sick children with the same tenderness, and delivered fresh bread to all the houses, and brought the old people in the carehouse new cloaks that never wore out, and kept warm in the coldest of weather."_

"This sister sounds like a real suck-up," Lilac muttered. Scorpius rolled his eyes. 

"She is _not_ a suck-up!" he said. "She's kindhearted."

"Keep going, Scorpius," Ashton said. "You're almost to the best part."

Scorpius smiled at Ashton and kept reading. 

"_It seemed that nothing the Prince could do would change the people's high regard for his sister. She was their martyr, their angel, their proof of good in the world. So the Prince hatched a plan. If he could not change the townspeople's opinions of her, and he could not convince her to change her ways — for he had tried many times to no avail — he would simply have to do away with her for good._"

Scorpius paused, seemingly waiting to see the effect of his words. Albus looked around; Lilac was nodding approvingly, though he couldn't tell if that was in support of Scorpius's storytelling or the main character's homicidal thoughts. Ashton was clutching a pillow, looking excited, and James looked rather bored. Jess had fallen asleep, his head in Lilac's lap. 

Scorpius cleared his throat once more and continued reading. 

"_One day, while the Prince's sister was braiding yarn to deliver to the town's weavers, the Prince came up behind her silently. When she turned to look who was there, he took his chance; seizing the braid in her hand, he wrapped it tightly about her neck, holding it tightly until her breathing ceased, her skin turning pale and cold._

_"The Prince dragged the body to the castle well, dropping it down; the next day he had a servant drag it back up, and presented it to the townspeople, crying crocodile tears for his 'dear, departed sister, struck down before her time'. He said her death was a dreadful accident, and a horrible tragedy that such a beloved person was gone."_

Albus shuddered, already uneasy. _That's disgusting, _he thought_. _Scorpius continued reading. 

"_However, it soon became clear that the Prince's sister was hardly as 'gone' as he'd thought. _

_"The Prince had heard tell of ghosts; his sister spoke to the few that hung around the castle, though the Prince never saw it heard any of them talk back. But odd happenings — candles going out without the slightest breeze, sudden cold in the middle of summer, and once a faint whisper of the Prince's name, in a voice that was unmistakably hers — All these led the Prince to the conclusion that he was being haunted by his sister. _

_"The Prince went on about his ways — A silly ghost couldn't hurt him._"

Ashton nudged Albus. "Pay attention to this part," he whispered. Albus nodded, listening to Scorpius. 

"_One night, in dead winter, there was a great storm. All the earth in the town's graveyard was churned up by the rush of floodwater, and an uncountable number of coffins and corpses were disturbed from their resting places. Many of them were quickly found (luckily the townspeople were not squeamish), and returned to their graves. Those that were not found were assumed to have been simply moved deeper in the ground, and nobody worried too much over it, for this was not the first such event in these parts._

_"Then, one night, as the Prince was headed off to sleep, something happened. The night was already dreadful enough — the Prince had caught a cold, and had also had to attend several reburials just before nightfall; Worst of all, he had discovered that his sister's grave was among those found empty after the flood. As he walked to his quarters, he had a feeling of being watched, and was grateful for the torchlight in the corridors. He crawled into bed, shutting his eyes as soon as the light went out. _

_"At an early hour of the morning, while the moon still shone in the sky and the sun had not yet begun to rise, he was awakened by a sound; drip. Drip. Drip. "_

Albus noticed Scorpius's voice had lowered ominously, his expression grim. He wiggled his fingers eerily in the air with every_ drip. _

"_The Prince, forgetting his earlier fears, opened his eyes, sitting up and looking around. Nothing appeared amiss at first; But then, he noticed a set of wet footprints leading across the floor, shining in the moonlight, to the curtained window; There stood a tall, blond figure, looking out at the moonlit town. _

_"From behind, the Prince could see that the figure was emaciated, clad in ragged clothes that were perhaps once beautiful. Water dripped from the figure's hair and clothes — that was what had awoken the Prince — and mud clung to the figure as if they had been covered by it._

_"'_Who is there?'_ the Prince cried indignantly; if some peasant or tramp had broken into his castle, he'd be having a stern word with his guards. The figure made no reply, still staring out the window in silence._

_"The Prince grew uneasy. He reached for the candle at his bedside to light it, not once taking his eyes off the figure even for a second. Then, just as the flame flickered into light, the figure moved, turning around; the Prince gasped, recoiling in fear and revulsion. _

_"Rotting flesh hung loose on partially-bared bones; Teeth caked in dirt grinned in a lipless smile. Yellowed eyes laid deep in dark sockets, and fleshless hands gripped tight to something long and thin; looking longer, the Prince realized with horror that it was a braided skein of yarn. He also noticed a caved-in area on the figure's head, and remembered with a chill the echoing thud and crack that preceded the splash of a body hitting water, and bloody water drawn up from the castle well for days. _

_"The Prince called out for his servant, even as the figure slowly, with a dreadful creak of old bones, stepped forward, twisting the braided yarn in its — her — hands. Then, with blinding fastness, she was right in front of him, eyes staring into his very soul, the smell of death and decay smothering him —"_

Scorpius stopped suddenly. His tone, which had been a fast-paced whisper, evened out.

"_The Prince was found the next day in his bed, covered in mud and blood, a braid of yarn right around his neck, his eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. The townspeople gathered solemnly at his burial, mourning the loss of one so young, and so soon after his sister."_

"And so ends the tale of the Prince's sister." Scorpius closed the book, looking up. 

"That...was...bloody disturbing," Albus said. 

"More like bloody awesome!" Ashton said. "Stupid Prince got what he deserved..."

"What was the scary part supposed to be, then?" Lilac asked, raising a brow. 

"Well, the whole thing, really," Scorpius said, looking puzzled. "The Prince's ruthlessness in harming, then killing, his sister, then lying to the townspeople about it, and then her returning from the grave to get revenge."

Lilac rolled her eyes. "My father is a horror writer. I've heard scarier stories over dinner."

Scorpius's expression changed, a glimmer in his eye. "I can add five words to this story that make it scarier than any of the ones you've heard," he challenged.

"Try me," Lilac said, crossing her arms. Scorpius smirked, flipping the book around and showing them all the words printed across the top of the title page:

"**Based on a true story."**

Lilac's face blanched, and she fell silent. Albus shuddered again, but James only looked interested. 

"Wow, that could really happen?"

"Of course," Scorpius said, closing the book. "Haven't you ever heard of Inferi? The true story is a little different, but no less gruesome. The sister's boyfriend was a wizard, and had been told the whole story by her ghost. After the storm washed up the graveyard, he decided to get revenge on the Prince and, with the sister's help, learned how to reanimate her corpse and control it using Dark magic. You all know the rest."

"Wow," James said. "That's metal as—"

"What other stories have you got, Scorpius?" Ashton asked, smiling. 

Scorpius handed another book to Ashton. "Here, how about you read next?"

Ashton took the book, raising a brow. "Alright." He opened the book and started reading aloud.


	4. Chapter four

"Is there any sentence that brings a chill to one's spine more than, 'what was that sound'?" Ashton began. "Perhaps only one."

"Oh, don't read _this _one!" Lilac moaned. "Pick one that's at least interesting."

"I don't have a lot to work with," Ashton snapped. "Unless you want to sneak to the library and find more."

"Why not?"

All heads turned toward Jess, who until now had been silent. His thin lips were parted in a mischievous grin, his bright blue eyes aglow in the lantern light. 

"What?" Ashton said, frowning. "Sneak out, you mean?"

"Not a bad idea," James said thoughtfully. Albus stared at him.

_"Yes, _a bad idea! We'll all get in trouble!"

"Altair Nott has a Demiguise cloak," Lilac mentioned. "We could borrow it." 

Albus shook his head. "We are _not —"_

"Oh! Diantha Parkinson has a pair of Silence Slippers," Ashton said excitedly. "I'm sure she won't mind if we use them."

"This really sounds like a bad idea," Albus said. Scorpius seemed to just be listening quietly. 

"And I," James said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a large piece of parchment, "have this." He drew his wand, whispering something and tapping the parchment. Spidery lines of ink trailed their way across the parchment, weaving the paths of familiar hallways and towers, and rooms. Albus stared at James, openmouthed. 

"You stole that from dad!" he hissed. James didn't pay him any attention, reveling in the admiring exclamations from the others. 

"Wow, what _is _that?" Lilac asked. 

"_Not _being used," Albus said, leaning across the circle and snatching the parchment from James. "This is a horrible idea. We are _not _going on a wild goose chase for _books _in the middle of the night! It's interesting enough as it is!"

"Are you scared, Albus?" Lilac was looking at him pityingly. "You don't have to come, you know."

"It just doesn't seem like a good idea." Albus was, in truth, frightened at the prospect of walking through the dark halls at night, possibly getting lost or hurt, or caught. 

"Lighten up, Al." James rolled his eyes. "Stop being a wimp." 

Albus sighed heavily. "This is a terrible idea! Scorpius, tell them it's a terrible idea!"

Scorpius looked down, looking uncomfortable. "Welll...."

"Oh, don't tell me you want to go _along _with them!" 

"It could be _fun_, Albus. That's the point of this, to have fun." Scorpius looked at Albus, and Albus could tell what was about to happen. 

"Scorpius, the puppy face isn't going to work this time," he said firmly. "We have school tomorrow, and we can't afford to get any more detentions."

"_Albus..." _

Albus sighed. "I can't believe I'm being the rational one."

"You're being the mean one," Scorpius retorted. "I _never _want to break the rules, and the one time I do, you won't indulge me?"

Albus crossed his arms. "I'm not letting all of you go off and get detention."

"Well, it may interest you to know everyone else already has." Scorpius outstretched a hand toward the others. 

"What are you talking abo...?" Albus trailed off as he looked around at the empty fort. 

Scorpius smiled smugly, standing. "Off to find them, then?" 

Albus sighed heavily. "Help me up..."

Scorpius grinned, helping him to his feet. "Yay!"

"You are far too excited over this."

"It comes from being sheltered, now let's _go!" _

Albus held onto Scorpius's arm, sighing in defeat as he was dragged out of the common room. 


	5. Chapter five

Albus and Scorpius crept side-by-side through the corridors, their hands half-covering the lit ends of their wands to keep the light out of the portraits' eyes. 

"Was it this cold in the common room?" Scorpius whispered; Albus could hear Scorpius's teeth chattering, and silently cursed himself for not grabbing either of their cloaks.

"I think we're close to the Owlery," he said. "There's always a bit of a draft around there."

"D'you know any heating spells?" Scorpius asked, looking at Albus. Albus shook his head.

"Let's just get to the library, yeah? It's not far, and it's always warm in there."

Scorpius nodded, and Albus felt him move closer in the dark as the two set off again. 

They reached the library, and Albus heard Scorpius sigh in relief.

"I've never been so happy to see the library," he said, dropping into a chair near the door.

"I doubt that," Albus said, looking around. _Where are those idiots? _he thought, scanning the room. "You don't suppose they're in the Restricted Section?"

"Wouldn't out it past them." Scorpius shifted in the chair. "It's where all the good books are."

"I won't ask how you know," Albus said. "We need to find them before they get in trouble. Or worse."

"Can I just have a moment to relax?" Scorpius asked. "Unlike you, I wasn't bred for athletic prowess."

"Your dad played Quidditch," Albus said, disbelieving.

"Not very well. And Mum never did. I'm following in their out-of-shape footsteps." Scorpius sighed.

"I can't believe this. We've been _walking," _ Albus scoffed. 

Scorpius held up a finger. "Not true. We were running for several minutes after we saw that cat and you thought it was Headmistress McGonagall."

"It was _dark!" _ Albus sighed. "Forget it. I'll find them myself..." He rolled his eyes and walked off, searching among the shelves for any sign of his brother or Housemates. 

As he neared the Restricted Section, a creaking floorboard behind him made him freeze in his tracks. He whipped around, wand raised, and and came face-to-face with —

"Scorpius!"

Albus glared at his friend, who had the decency to look apologetic. 

"That old lady librarian ghost was hanging around," he admitted bashfully. "It was giving me the creeps. I didn't mean to scare you."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Well, now you're here, do you want to lead the way to the Restricted Section?"

Scorpius lowered his head, raising his wand, and walked ahead of Albus to a small gap between two shelves. Through it, Albus could see two or three shelves of disorganized, dusty, old books, some secured to the shelves with chains or rope (and, in one case, what looked like an entire roll of Spellotape). 

"Can you for through there?" Scorpius asked, looking at Albus, who shook his head. 

"No. Can you?"

Scorpius flashed him a mischievous grin. "How do you think I got in before?"

~°~

Scorpius was able to find the entrance gates to the Restricted Section, and was working on unlocking them from the inside. _Why couldn't they have just kept the rope? _Albus wondered as he watched Scorpius struggle with the lock. 

"Almost...got it!" Scorpius exclaimed as the gates swung open. "Good news, the lock looks like it was opened recently and relocked by an idiot. James is, or at least was, in here."

"That's great," Albus said, stepping inside the gate. "How big is the Restricted Section, exactly?"

"There are about four rows, with small cupboards placed intermittently throughout. Fun fact about the cupboards, by the way — they bite when you try to open them, unless they're empty. Pretty handy security system, but nobody would tell me the spell for it."

"Alright, how about we split up and look for them? You've got your wand?" Albus looked at Scorpius, raising a brow. Scorpius nodded. 

"Alright. I'll take right, you take left?"

Scorpius nodded, and the two split up, searching among the shelves. 

Albus couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, but he put that down to ghosts. The shuffling sound a few aisles over was only Scorpius. 

Albus sighed, shaking his shoulders to relieve his stress. He walked off, keeping his wand outstretched in front of him. 

A crashing sound in the next aisle made him freeze in his tracks; He glanced around, then ran to the next aisle, wand raised and ready to curse anyone he needed to; he skidded to a stop, his wand pointed at a pile of robes in the middle of the aisle. 

_"James?"_


	6. Chapter six

James stared up at Albus for a moment; then he chuckled, pushing himself to a sitting position. "You got me, Al."

"Where are the others?" Albus asked, frowning. James shrugged. 

"Probably halfway back to the common room by now. I'm just here to get a few Dark Arts manuals."

Albus stared at him. _"What?"_

"I'm_ kidding, _Al. Merlin, you make it too easy...I'm getting a book of Dark wizards in history. I figure it'll make a better story than _'the Prince's Sister'_ or whatever..."

"James, you—"

"Albus, there you are!" Scorpius came running up the aisle. "I couldn't find — James." He stopped short. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Having a bit of a lie-down. Got a bit tired after all the walking," James snarked. "I fell off the ladder."

Scorpius sighed. "Come on, let's find the others and get back to the common room..."

"They're already on the way there," Albus informed him. "James decided to stay back and try to one-up your story with a book of Dark wizards."

Scorpius frowned. James shrugged apologetically, standing up. "Sorry, Scorpius. It's that Weasley competitive spirit."

Albus rolled his eyes. "You two go on. I'll get the book." He walked over to the ladder. "I'll catch up with you."

James shrugged, turning and walking off. Scorpius seemed to hesitate before following. Albus climbed up the ladder, scanning the shelf for the book. He quickly located it and climbed down, hurrying to catch up with his brother and best friend.

They were halfway back to the common room when the noise started; a loud, metallic screech that echoed through the halls. Scorpius stuck close to Albus, but James kept heading off to find out what it was; Albus had to hold onto his sweater sleeve to keep him from wandering off. However, the fifth time they heard the noise, he was unable to keep him from bolting off in the direction of the noise. 

"Bloody hell," Albus muttered. "He always has to be the white guy in a horror movie."

"The what?" Scorpius asked, looking at Albus. 

"Muggle expression. Let's go." He set off after James, with Scorpius following close behind. The screeching got louder the closer they got. 

"James!" Albus whisper-shouted when he spotted his brother, kneeling beside a suit of armor. 

"Shh! There's a cat stuck in here!" James snapped. He seemed to be dismantling the armor, his bottom lip between his teeth. "I've almost got it."

Albus walked forward, frowning. "What— AUGH!" He fell back as a large, fluffy yellow cat came flying at him. James burst into laughter, doubling over. Scorpius hurried to help get the cat off of Albus. 

"We never speak of this," Albus said, standing. "Let's get back to the common room. Now."

Scorpius nodded, setting the cat on the floor; it ran off through the halls, its footsteps pitter-pattering on the stone. 

They reached the common room without further event, and went over to the blanket fort in the corner. James ducked inside, looking around, and chuckled. Albus frowned, peeking inside, and groaned. 

"Scorpius, your audience are asleep." 

Scorpius sighed heavily, ducking inside. "Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." He laid down on the floor, closing his eyes. 

Albus rolled his eyes. "Weirdo..." he muttered. He sat down, picking up a book and opening it. 

_It was a dark, cold night...._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes my first Halloween story! I won't be updating again until at the soonest, Monday, so hopefully this will ride you over :) happy Halloween!


End file.
